Gay lobbyist laughs off bestiality comments

A leading advocate for same-sex marriage says comments linking gay marriage to sex with animals smacked of desperation.

South Australian Senator Cory Bernardi today resigned as Tony Abbott's parliamentary secretary, after telling the Senate that allowing same-sex marriage could lead to bestiality being socially accepted.

Angela Pollard is part of the Equal Love lobby group and runs a community legal centre in Lismore.

She says the senator is a serial offender.

"Cory Bernadi's one of my favourites of course, he's got form in all sorts of ways," she said.

"But the line he used was consensual activity.

"Now I looked at my puppy dog and I said: 'Evie, you better get moving because there's quite some risk that apparently, according to Cory, I'll be after you if I get married to my girlfriend.'"